How INEC’s final list left Kano NDC governorship candidate Gwarzo out

The name of Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate in Kano State, is missing from the final list of candidates released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2027 governorship election.

The omission was revealed in the final list published on Saturday, October 10, which contains 17 governorship candidates representing different political parties in Kano State.

Although the list includes candidates from the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and African Democratic Congress (ADC), neither Gwarzo nor an NDC candidate appears on the published roster.

Gwarzo, a former deputy governor of Kano State, had emerged as the NDC’s governorship candidate following political realignments involving former Kano governor and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) leader, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

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His absence from the final list raises questions about the NDC’s participation in the Kano governorship contest. However, INEC has not publicly disclosed the specific reason for the omission.

The development comes after a September 24, 2026 Supreme Court judgment that restored provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 concerning political party membership registers and eligibility to participate in party primaries.

The restored provisions require political parties to comply with statutory requirements relating to the submission of membership registers to INEC ahead of primaries, congresses and conventions.

The judgment has attracted attention because of its potential implications for candidates whose eligibility or nomination may be affected by compliance with those requirements.

However, the published Kano candidates’ list does not establish that the Supreme Court judgment was the specific reason for Gwarzo’s omission.

Among the candidates listed by INEC are Gashash Mukhtar of Party A; Haruna Abdullahi of the Action Alliance (AA); Sharif Abba of the African Action Congress (AAC); Ibrahim Ali Amin of the ADC; and Muhammad Abdullahi of the Action Democratic Party (ADP).

Others include Yusuf Abba Kabir of the APC, Tijjani Sukairaju Tijjani of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Muhammad Bashir Galadanchi of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Tukur Aliyu Malam of the Action Peoples Party (APP) and Ahmad Furera of the Boot Party (BP).

The list also features Bari Mustapha Bello of the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA), Santuraki Hamisu of the Labour Party, Abdullahi Mustapha of the National Democratic Party (NDP), Abacha Muhammed Sani of the PDP, Koguna Nasiru Hassan of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Hussaini Bello Ado of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Nuhu Isa of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).